Whispers In The Dark
by Cthulhus Instrament
Summary: Note: Everything from the story, characters to plot, is all origianal content. Malcolm Smith is about to enter the nightmare Isaac Clark faced. What starts as a strange murder in a engine interior onboard the U.S.G. Olympus turns into a battle for survival in the dark halls of the ship and the dangers of a mad Unitologist scientist.
1. Prologue: The Night Is Darkest

**Prologue:** _**The Night Is Darkest…**_

Dr. Grawl walked slowly down the dim metal hallway, his footsteps echoing softly around him as he walked. This was a matter that should have called for at least a light jog, but Dr. Grawl had a reputation to uphold, something not even a discovery such as this could force him to lose his composure. The door slid to the side as he approached, a very excited Dr. Howl waiting for him. "Dr. Grawl, finally. We've been ready to begin with the experiments for an hour." Dr. Howl said in his shaky voice. Dr. Grawl held up his hand in response to silence the excited doctor. "Yes, yes. I was in an important meeting when the summons came. I had to excuse myself as politely as possible, not something easily done with an excitable Unitologist constantly requesting one's presence." Dr. Grawl said in his calm, deep baritone voice, dripping with authority.

"Yes, please forgive me Doctor. But, you must understand that this is an event that will alter the very course of mankind." Dr. Howl said, closing the door and walking next to Dr. Grawl to the observation room. "As it should, Dr. Howl. Now we might be considered as more than just lunatics chasing a dead man's dream." Dr. Grawl said, a faint smile gracing his lips. The two entered the room, a large glass plane resting at a slant in front of two rows of chairs. The two doctors sat in adjacent front-row chairs as the subject sat in a corner of the small square room, his knees close to his chest.

Dr. Grawl pressed a button on the armrest and a RIG video holographic screen materialized in front of him and the receiving end displaying on the other side of the glass. "Hello, I am Dr. Grawl. I want to assure you that this test will be both safe and legal. Now, if you could stand and move to the center of the room, please." Dr. Grawl said with a warm smile. The man looked around to see if anything had changed in his immediate area and, with some reluctance, stood and moved to the middle of the room. He held is left arm with his right and looked around in suspicion and caution. Dr. Grawl smiled, "Excellent. You are doing very well, my friend."

The man looked up to the holographic screen. "The… the voices aren't going to come again…ri-right?" The man asked slowly, looking around the room. "I-I don't want to hear them. Their mean… scary." He said, holding his arm closer. "No, no. Do not worry; you will be safe from the voices. Now, place shard 097 in test chamber 4 please." Dr. Grawl said. A small floor pad slid open and a small pedestal rose from its depths with a small piece of black rock-like material with glowing red lines about it. It seemed to glow brighter as it entered, almost as though the subject influenced its brightness. "Now, if you could touch the shard please." Dr. Grawl said.

The man backed away from the shard and fear dominated his thoughts. "No… no… it's-it's just like the voices said. No, get ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE!" The man yelled, pounding on the wall he backpedaled into. "Relax. You will be okay. All you need to do to make the voices stop is touch the shard." Dr. Grawl said in a calm voice, a reassuring smile on his features. The man looked from the shard to the doctor several times. "You… you promise that they will go away?" The man asked uncertain. Dr. Grawl smiled, "Forever." The man looked at the shard before he shuffled slowly over to it, reaching out his hand to touch it, stopping just before he did.

Dr. Grawl's patience was running thin. He stifled the urge to yell at this idiot before calming down. "You're so close. All you need to do is touch it." Dr. Grawl said softly. The man gave him one last, uncertain look before he lowered his hand. As his skin touched the smooth stone, the red lines glowed brighter, a small hum emitted from the shard. The man stared in awe as its soft lights danced about the room, forming odd symbols and strange patterns only half-formed. "Make us whole…" Echoed about the room, no louder than a whisper, yet perfectly clear.

The man looked down to his hand, a small discoloration climbing up his arm. He pulled his arm back and stared in horror as it continued its climb up his arm. Words didn't come to him; he could only look on as the odd color spread over his arm, his chest, his body. As it finished, he felt… calm. Like nothing would bother him again. Then he doubled over, pain exploding from his back as two fleshy appendages burst forth from his back, sharp foot-long claws at the end of each. He felt the skin on his neck tear and rip as it extended upward. Finally, thought ended as small black tentacles forced their way out his mouth, nose and eye sockets and a primal growl filled the room. The man was no more.

Now, he was a necromorph.

Dr. Howl released the contents of his stomach in the chair next to him while Dr. Grawl looked on in utter fascination. "Just as I thought. The necrotic cells in his body responded to the Marker shard's signal, causing a full-blown genetic re-writing without the need of an infection form… fascinating." Dr. Grawl said to the recording RIG screen in front of him. Dr. Howl wiped his mouth. "By Altman doctor, we can't continue this work! Look at what it's done to this poor man!" He said eyeing the necromorph as it stalked about the room.

"What was his name again?" Dr. Grawl asked, ignoring his statement… for now. Dr. Howl was flustered but looked down to his clipboard. "His name is- was… Hank Friedman." Dr. Howl solemnly replied. "Hank Friedman." Dr. Grawl said into the screen's mike. The necromorph stopped and looked at the screen with empty eye sockets. "Approach." Dr. Grawl said simply. The necromorph walked forward and looked up to the screen, awaiting further instruction. A grin spread over Dr. Grawl's face. "Excellent. Now, my real work can begin. But first…" Dr. Grawl pressed a button on the armrest, "Send another subject to test chamber 4. But first, bring a laser cage, human size."

Malcolm sighed. This had to be the worst, most boring, repetitive job he ever had the misfortune of having. Granted, he was paid ridiculous amounts of credits to do this job, not to mention the free housing and discounts in the stores, but… sometimes, he contemplated leaving this job and taking his daughter back to their home world and off this damn ship. The ship in question being the U.S.G. Olympus, the single largest starship ever crafted. Stretching to a length of 2.5 miles and width of 1 mile, it was a mobile space station, second only to Titan station, orbiting Saturn's largest moon. The only downside: the crew was massive; maxing out at 50,000 people to keep it running smoothly. Add that to the civilian population that calls the ship home, there were half a million people onboard at any given time.

And as the Captain of the Engineering Crew, he had a lot of work to do.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed again, staring up to his metal ceiling to try and find some kind of escape from his job. He kicked his feet up onto his desk and turned his gaze to the holographic computer monitor when a soft red light began to pulsate from it. _'Engine 012 running at critical levels. Dispatch engineering crew now?' _The message read. "God damn, that's the seventh time this month… Attention all engineering crews on the engine 012 level, fix a critical repair on the engine. And get it right this time." Malcolm said into the massive ship intercom mic, isolating the message to only the deck it needed to be heard on. Didn't want to start a panic like last time… that was one helluva mess.

_"Engineering Crew Delta, responding to your request. You got it boss." _Crackled through the monitor's speakers. "Roger that Delta. Try to look for any and all abnormalities, this is a recurring problem and the Captain will be pissed if his bird has a bad wing." Malcolm said through the mic sighing once more, Malcolm returned to his reclined state, wishing 5:30 would come faster. Luckily for him, nothing of importance happened until around 5:10 p.m.

_"Uh, this is Engineering crew Delta. You might want to come check this out yourself boss." _The crew captain said over the comms. "And why is that, captain?" Malcolm replied, irritation dripping from his words. _"Maybe this will convince you." _The captain said. Malcolm gazed at the monitor with impatience as a load bar showed the progress of the incoming picture message. _'This had better be… Mother of God…' _Malcolm thought as the picture loaded on the screen. "Central to Engineering Crew Delta, I'll be there shortly." Malcolm said, closing the picture and heading to his suit station. _'Guess I'm working overtime…' _Malcolm thought to himself as he entered the small chamber.

_U.S.G. Olympus, Engine Deck 012, 17:40 hours, Earth time_

"Jesus…" Malcolm muttered as he gazed upon the mess in the massive engine. "I don't know… this isn't really his style." Garret Frost replied, standing next to Malcolm. Malcolm sighed, "Duly noted, Captain. Now, what do you think caused this?" Garret looked over the blood that started at an intake vent and, once what was left of the vent was removed, the ungodly amount of blood that was splashed over the entire inside and the chunks of flesh clogging the various pipes and gears and other vital functions that the engine needed.

"Normally? Crew member goes in to repair something, gets caught, losses an arm or something. But this? Heh, someone, or some_ ones_, got fuckin' murdered. And it wasn't a pleasant death by the looks of it." Garret said. "I say we call Security and see what they think." Garret added, his engineering suit's helmet retracting to show his young face.

"Agreed. But, we still have an engine to repair. Once the Security guys are done with the cleanup you and your crew are going in there." Malcolm said, chuckling as the captain held his nose and gagged. "Those air filters are a Godsend, huh?" Malcolm asked as Garret's helmet climbed over his head once more. "*Cough* Yeah, they are. But, why do we need to go back in? The hunks of meat are clearly the cause of the problem." Garret said. "Because this engine has been a bad boy a lot this past month and we need to see if there are any serious problems with him." Malcolm explained. "Now, you and your crew head back to the barracks. Shift's over for today." Malcolm said, earning sighs of relief from the crew that hovered behind their two superiors.

"Sure thing, boss. Have fun with this shit." Garret said as he turned to head for the tram station that ran the length of the ship. Ignoring Garret's feeble attempt at humor, Malcolm pulled up a comm link to the head of Security. "Melissa? You in there?" Malcolm said, surveying the grizzly scene before him. "Yes, Malcolm? What do you need?" Melissa Granger answered, still in her security suit from what Malcolm guessed was a meeting with the Captain. "Glad to see you too. Anyway, I've got something here that you will _never _guess." Malcolm said to Melissa's hostility. "Quit fucking around and just tell me what happened before I arrest your sorry ass." Melissa said with a serious tone.

Malcolm sighed, "Always so hostile. Here, why don't I show you?" Malcolm turned on the exterior camera for his RIG and did a slow pan over the interior of the engine. "By the Marker, what the hell happened there?" Melissa asked, her hostile tone abandoned. "Beats the hell out of me. But I think you better get a team down here ASAP. I'll put the deck on lockdown until you're done." Malcolm said, turning off the camera. "Yeah, thanks Malcolm. I'll be down there shortly. But, before you go, any witnesses or anything of that nature?" Melissa asked, hurrying to Central Security Station as she talked. "Nope, nothing like that. There are cameras down here though. You might want to check those out." Malcolm said. Melissa sighed, "Alright. Thanks for your help. We'll keep in touch." Malcolm nodded. "Sure thing Melissa. I'll be in my quarters if you need further help." Malcolm said before he closed the comm link. _'This is gonna be a loooooooong week…' _Malcolm thought to himself as he made his way for the tram station.

If only he knew how right he was…

**Author's Note: So, this is the prologue, short, sweet, and to the point. Chapters after this are going to be longer. Just for future reference: Isaac Clark is **_**NOT**_** going to be in this story. The events on the **_**U.S.G. Ishimura **_**have happened a year prior to the events in this story, so this story is going to be taking place between Dead Space one and Dead Space 2. Until next time, CI signing off.**


	2. Chapter 1: Stranger and Stranger

_**Chapter 1: Stranger and Stranger**_

_Melissa Granger, Head of Security, Engine Deck 012, Saturday 18:07 hours, Earth time_

"Ugh, it looked better over the camera…" Melissa said, looking about in the bloodied engine interior. "Holy shit, that's a _lot_ of blood, sir." Rod Ferguson said, backing away from all the gore. Melissa nodded; it was easily enough blood to have been two, maybe three people. "Let's see what the damage is, shall we?" Melissa asked, stepping through the vent and into the dark engine. Hesitantly, the other three security members in her squad followed her into the hellish machine. Melissa stepped carefully around an empty, limbless torso. "This must have been the victim… or at least, one of them." Melissa said, turning on her shoulder mounted lamp to get a better view of the body, if that's what it could be called.

"Shit, that thing's _empty_. What sick fuck would take all the organs out of a torso?" Rod said, turning his gaze around the small area. "Don't know Rod, but there are some weird people out there, like our good captain." Nick Denser said, pulling what looked like it had once been an arm out of some gears. "Very funny Nick. One more comment like that, and you'll be cleaning this thing with your toothbrush." Melissa said as she continued her investigation of the torso. Nick always poked fun Melissa's way about her being Unitologist. Melissa usually took it in stride, but now didn't classify under "usually".

Fernando Shepard chuckled at the toothbrush comment, surprising the rest of his team. He was often a man of few words, priding himself in the "strong and silent" type, as others say. "Look at that Nick. I even got a chuckle out of Fernando there." Melissa said while grinning behind her security suit's helmet. Nick grumbled under his breath as he dropped the pile of flesh he found. "Hey, this important sir?" Rod said as he gestured to some writing on the wall. Melissa stood and walked over to where Rod stood, pointing to what looked to be Unitologist symbols on the wall written in blood. "That's odd… these look like Marker symbols…" Melissa said combing her memory for what the symbols meant.

"Permission to speak freely sir." Nick said playing with a loose gear that held the arm. "Granted." Melissa said still focusing her attention on the symbols. "That is fucking creepy. Sir." Nick said abandoning the gears. Fernando grunted in agreement as he slide a loose panel on the floor to the side. "Yes, yes it is." Melissa said, half way done deciphering the symbols. "I have something." Fernando said, holding part of a torn uniform in his hand. Melissa didn't turn from the symbols, "What is it?"

"A Medical officer's uniform, it has the med deck symbol on it. No ID, though." Fernando reported to Melissa. "Medical officer? What is a doctor doing down _here_?" Rod asked, looking over the piece of white fabric stained with dark red in his hands after Fernando offered it. "Don't know, but it makes as much sense as these symbols." Melissa said, standing back slightly from the wall. "If I remember correctly, it reads _'They obey him, they obey him. They want to be made whole.'_ Any ideas?" Melissa asked, turning to face her team.

"Last prayer to God, or who the fuck ever you worship? It would be ironic, given his current state." Nick said with a shrug. "Hope you don't like your toothbrush Nick. Anyone else?" Melissa asked, facing Rod and Fernando. "Fuck…" Nick mumbled as he turned to inspect a holographic monitor. "No idea sir." Rod said as he placed the torn uniform in an evidence bag. Melissa looked to Fernando who shook his head in response. "Well then gentlemen. Our work here is done. Coroner will be here shortly to analyze the… 'body'." Melissa said as she walked out of the engine. "Thank Christ…" Nick mumbled as he hurried out of the engine. "Don't get too happy Nick. We still need to look around the immediate area for other clues. Get to it people." Melissa said as she walked to the corner of the massive engine room for the camera on the ceiling that overlooked the vent.

"You got it sir." Rod said as he started to remove the panel that housed the door's controls. "Awesome…" Nick said as he climbed the ladder to the top of the engine. "Yes sir." Fernando replied as he made his way for the engine readout monitor on the opposite side of the room. Melissa opened her RIG screen to override the controls to the camera. After some basic commands, she had access to the camera and its footage. "Rod, based on the blood, what would your estimate on the time of death be?" Melissa asked as she browsed through the footage archives for the camera. "My guess would be one, two days, tops. Blood doesn't take too long to dry." Rod replied as he opened his own RIG screen.

_'One to two days…' _Melissa thought as she rewound to the correct date. _'Ah ha. Here we are.' _Melissa opened the footage for that day, last Thursday, and played it at 120% speed, fast enough to not sit here for hours, but slow enough to not miss anything important. "Door open/close records seem normal. No sign of forced entry or tampering." Rod reported as he read the information off of his RIG screen. "So the killer had access to engineering level doors? That narrows it down at least." Melissa said as she watched time fly by in the empty room. "Yo, captain. Check Thursday at 22:17 hours. Engine reads physical damage was recorded then." Nick said as he navigated the engines computer log.

Melissa fast-forwarded to ten minutes before and played it at normal speed. "Fernando, anything to report?" Melissa asked as she watched the still-empty room. "No sir. Aside from the engine being broken." Fernando said. A man walked into the room on the footage and looked about before opening the vent on the side of the engine and climbing in. "Hey, I got something." Melissa said once she viewed this. "He isn't wearing an engineering suit. He can't be doing anything good." Rod said as the man climbed out of the vent and replaced the cover. "And he knows there is a camera here. He hid his face the whole time." Melissa noted. "He also didn't destroy the vent. No one else was in there, so he can't be the killer." Rod added.

"Yeah, but he was still doing something illegal. Nick, that wasn't the time of death. Anything else?" Melissa asked. "One sec… yeah, Friday, 01:47 hours, physical damage recorded." Nick reported. Melissa fast-forwarded to ten minutes prior again and played it to normal speed. A man opened the door and limped in, blood matting his pants to his leg. He looked around franticly before opening the vent and closing it after he was inside the engine. "He had a Medical officer's uniform, he must be the victim." Melissa said. Metal clattered down onto the top of the engine and a dark figure jumped down the side of the massive engine and slashed the vent cover apart and jumped in. Four minutes later, the same figure climbs out and jumps to the top of the engine and up out of sight.

"Holy shit, that guy is either not human or doing serious drugs." Rod said when the video concluded its grizzly show. "Nick, look for any metal up there." Melissa said, looking at the ceiling where another vent cover was torn apart. "We know how he got in now…" Melissa said to herself. "There's some metal up here, just like… you… said." Nick reported while following Melissa's gaze up to the exposed vent. "How did we miss _that_?" Nick asked. "Don't know." Melissa said as the door opened. A man in a white lab coat walked in and surveyed the security crew. "I'm Doctor Desmond Niles. Where's the lucky winner?" The man said in a slight English accent.

"Hello doctor. I'm Melissa Granger, Head of Security." Melissa said as she approached Desmond. "Charmed. What do we have… and where?" Desmond asked, looking around. Melissa pointed to the torn vent and watched as Desmond walked over and entered. "Well, you don't see _that_ every day… and my wife says this job is boring." The security squad hears from the interior of the engine. Melissa turned to Rod, "Keep looking for anything else. I'm going to have a word with the good doctor." Melissa turned to enter the engine after him. "Yes sir." Rod said.

"Form what we've gathered doc, victim is a member of Medical. Anyone missing on your end?" Melissa asked as Desmond opened a small bag and pulled gloves on. "That is a question to ask those that deal with the patients still living. So, no, not that I'm aware of." Desmond said as he tilted the torso this way and that, looking for… Melissa didn't know what he was looking for. "I see. So, I'm guessing cause of death was blood loss?" Melissa asked, turning on her shoulder lamp once more. "Thank you. And I won't know until I get back to the lab for more extensive test. Assuming that they will be enough to tell cause of death. My guess, however, would be blood loss after decapitation of limbs. Blood in these amounts would require a still-beating heart and therefor the torso injuries are post-mortem." Desmond said. "There it is." He added, pulling a small metal chip out of what was left of the ribcage.

"There's what?" Melissa asked. "What we have here is a custom made medical chip. These little babies are put in people who undergo surgery so as to provide details on what happened, who did it, etc. I'll have an ID for you within ten hours." Desmond said, pocketing the small chip. "Well, that's convenient. Thank you for your help Dr. Niles. Please contact me when you have further information." Melissa said as she turned for the exit. "Oh, one more thing." Desmond said standing up. "Yes?" Melissa asked facing him. "While right now it's nothing more than speculation, but the wounds on the body seem more consistent with animal attacks than a human attacker with a weapon. But, like I said, I won't be sure until more tests are done." Desmond said. "Hmm. Interesting… thank you for your help Doctor. Squad! Let's move out. We're done here. Melissa said as she walked for the door.

_Malcolm Smith, Head of Engineering, Personal Quarters, Sunday 9:48 hours, Earth time_

Malcolm awoke slowly, looking over to the clock. _'Almost ten. She let me sleep in today.'_ Malcolm thought to himself as he stretched and rose out of his bed. Malcolm loved his bed, and there was no changing that fact. Most of his friends had one of those fancy levitation beds, but they creped Malcolm out. Not touching anything while you slept… ugh, it's just plain weird. And Malcolm heard horror stories of what happened when they malfunctioned. Of course it was rare, but the threat of it was always in the back of his mind when he contemplated buying one. Once you see something, you can't un-see it.

Malcolm pulled a tee-shirt down over his head and a pair of sweat pants before walking out to the kitchen. He started warming up a pan to begin cooking breakfast when Sara, his 7-year-old daughter, walked out while rubbing her eyes with one hand and her other holding a Rainbow Dash plush toy, her favorite. Malcolm didn't know where her fascination came from for the very, _very_ old cartoon, but it made her happy. And that was good enough for Malcolm. "Good morning princess. How did you sleep?" Malcolm asked, cracking some eggs to make omelets.

"Good." Sara simply replied, too tired to go into further detail of her slumber. "Why are you so tired today?" Malcolm asked. "Usually _you _wake _me_ up." Malcolm said with a playful smile to Sara. "I guess I stayed up watching My Little Pony longer than usual last night." Sara replied followed by an adorable yawn. "Why do you find that show so fascinating? I was never into old stuff like you. And not into talking horses either." Malcolm said as he flipped the first omelet, landing it perfectly with a nice sizzle as the uncooked side hit the hot pan. Sara shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe I get it from mom. And their ponies, not horses."

Malcolm shrugged as well. "My mistake. Here you are." He said as he placed the fresh omelet on a plate and placed it in front of Sara. He got to work on making his own when he heard Sara yelp in surprise as she spit out a half-chewed bite. "Careful, it's hot." Malcolm said with a devious grin. Sara glared at him, "Thanks a lot Captain Obvious." Malcolm chuckled while he awaited his omelet to cook sufficiently before he flipped it. "You know I love you Sara." Malcolm said as he flipped the omelet. "I love you too…" Sara mumbled before blowing on the piece of omelet before eating it. Malcolm let his omelet finish cooking before he put it on a plate and sat down to the left of Sara on their small dining table. Right as he went to bite his breakfast, a knock came from the door.

"Fantastic. Wonder who that is." Malcolm said as he rose to answer the door. He slide the door open to reveal Melissa, already in her security suit. "Hello Malcolm. You should come with me to the Coroner's office. It's… important that you hear what he has to say. Once you're dressed, of course." Melissa said after she retracted her helmet. "Oh. Uh, sure. Can I have breakfast first?" Malcolm asked with a playful smile. Melissa rolled her eyes, "Meet me at his office. I'll send the path to your RIG." And with that, Melissa's helmet climbed over her head and she walked off. Malcolm closed the door and returned to the breakfast table to resume eating. "Who was that dad?" Sara asked when he sat down. "Just a… co-worker. I'm going to be gone for a while, okay?" Malcolm said, taking a bite of his food. "She was kinda pretty. Is it a date?" Sara asked. Malcolm sighed, "No, no it is not." His omelet didn't taste quiet as good now.

_Malcolm Smith, Head of Engineering, Coroner's Office, Sunday 10:27 hours, Earth time_

"Glad I had breakfast first." Malcolm said distastefully as he looked upon the torso and assorted chunks of flesh that lay on the table. "You get used to it." Desmond said with a shrug and a chuckle form Melissa. "Now, as you can see, there wasn't a lot that I could do with the body, but what I could do was determine the cause of death. That being blood loss after the limbs were severed from the body, arms first, then legs and the head last. Once they were removed, the torso was opened along the middle and sternum and the organs removed." Desmond explained while gesturing to the torso at different parts as he went. "But, I'm sure you could have guessed that. What I found interesting though, is the lacerations found on the torso and what's left of the arms and legs; they are near-identical to animal attacks instead of a human, save the bite marks." Desmond said as he pointed out several examples.

"Whoa, whoa, back up. _Human_ bite marks? As in, this guy-"Malcolm said before being cut off by Desmond, "Henry Mulberry, Doctor Henry Mulberry." Malcolm shook his head, "Yeah, whatever. But he got chewed on?" Desmond nodded. "That is correct." Desmond said as he pulled out a picture of one of the many bite marks present on the torso. "Holy shit…" Malcolm said as he studied the picture. "This leads to why I called you here, Malcolm." Melissa said. Malcolm handed the picture back to Desmond and faced Melissa. "One, I though you should know. Two, you cannot tell _anybody_ about this, not even the crew that found the crime scene." Melissa said in a serious tone that unnerved Malcolm. "Why? What the hell do I tell them?" Malcolm asked.

Melissa looked to Desmond who nodded and gathered some papers before leaving the room with a quiet, "If you will excuse me for a moment." Melissa turned back to Malcolm, "If what Dr. Niles found is accurate, we could be looking at a first-contact scenario here. And not a pleasant one." Melissa said in a hushed tone. Malcolm looked at her dumbfounded. "Holy- are you saying there are _aliens_ onboard?" Malcolm asked, also quietly. Melissa nodded, "And the only reason I told you is because I need to make a full report of this to the captain, and if you can confirm my report, he will be more inclined to take action. And… I know it must be tough, being a single parent. You should know so you can protect Sara." Melissa explained.

Malcolm took a deep breath and released it. "Thanks. But… we barely know each other. Why would you do something like this?" Malcolm asked slowly after a long pause. "Because Unitology preaches being one people. Not as strangers stumbling through life together, but friends." Melissa said softly before she turned to walk out of the room. "I'm going to meet the captain at 11:00 a.m. Be there at 10:50 or so." Melissa said as she walked out the door and down the hall. Malcolm stared after her for a moment before he sat down in one of the chairs about the room. His gaze found its way back to the decimated piles of flesh that lay on the table. _'First aliens, now Melissa… what the fuck is going on?'_ Malcolm thought to himself.

He wished he could find an answer.

_Dr. Kirk Grawl, Religious Scientist (Unitology), His office on Medical deck, Sunday10:12 hours, Earth time_

Dr. Grawl was looking over his notes from the test with Hank Friedman when a knock came from the door. "Enter." He called out and Dr. Howl walked in and sat in one of the two chairs that rested in front of his dark oak desk. "Ah, Dr. Howl. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Dr. Grawl asked as he placed the notes in their respective folder. "I've come to report the successful test of the neural amplifier on subjects 1 through 74. They have all responded to the orders to the letter." Dr. Howl stated. A smile formed on Dr. Grawls lips. "That is excellent news my friend." Dr. Grawl said happily.

"Yes, but, I'm afraid that I have some bad news to report as well." Dr. Howl said uncertainly. Dr. Grawls smile vanished to be replaced with his customary frown. "And what would that be?" Dr. Grawl said in a disappointed tone. "It, uh… it appears one of the subjects was able to escape and kill a medical officer this morning at approximately 1:47 a.m. on the Engineering deck." Dr. Howl said slowly. "The subject was terminated at 1:55 a.m. by one of our staff and its remains shot out of airlock 49278." Dr. Howl said solemnly. "By Altman, this is a disaster! How the hell did it escape?" Dr. Grawl said angrily. "The subject was able to escape through an air vent in its cell." Dr. Howl said.

"See to it that all cells are revised to fix this problem immediately. What of the infection forms? Not to change the subject, of course. We will cross that bridge when we come to it." Dr. Grawl said coldly. "Yes, the infection forms. We have yet to successfully create one. The genetic coding is proving to be more complex than anticipated. We are close, however." Dr. Howl replied. Dr. Grawl sighed, "Very well. Thank you for the report. If you will excuse me, I must dwell on what has transpired." Dr. Grawl said, turning in his swivel chair to face out the window. Dr. Howl rose and left without another word. _'This is not good. It appears my plans are going to have to be accelerated. Gods work will be done… only later than I anticipated.' _Dr. Grawl thought to himself.

In the cold reaches of space outside Dr. Grawls window, a necromorph head floated by.

**Authors Note: Here we are, chapter 1 completed! Now, as for when 'action' will be introduced into the story (that is, necromorph fighting and generally undesirable things like that happening) will come in chapter 3 or so. If it's the main reason you came to read this story, just stick around until then. If you like a little lead up to the violence, then I hope you enjoyed the story so far! Please feel free to PM me or leave a review on what you think about the story so far, what I can improve on, etc. Until next time, CI signing off.**


	3. Chapter 2: Swept Under the Rug

_**Chapter 2: Swept Under the Rug**_

_Malcolm Smith, Head of Engineering, Captains Quarters, Sunday 10:57 hours, Earth time_

"So, what's the plan?" Malcolm asked as he walked next to Melissa, now in his engineering suit. One has to look professional when meeting with the captain, after all. "Answer whatever questions he has to answer to the best of your abilities. Other than that, I'm going to give him a full report of what has happened and ask for him to take action. After that, all you need to do is confirm my report." Melissa said, retracting her helmet. Malcolm retracted his helmet as well. "Sounds easy enough." Malcolm said. They approached the door to the captains' quarters and Melissa knocked on the door. "Yes? Who is it?" A scratchy voice replies from the other side. "It's Melissa Granger, Head of Security and Malcolm Smith, Head of Engineering. We have something vital to discuss with you sir." Melissa called out. "Ah, Melissa. Come in, come in." The voice replied, much happier now.

As the door unlocked, Malcolm and Melissa entered, Melissa headed right for the desk that the captain kept in the center of the massive room while Malcolm looked around as he headed for the desk as well. The room was large, easily as big as one of the engine rooms. It was also lavishly decorated; Malcolm guessed it must pay well to be the captain of a massive starship. The captain himself was an elderly gentleman, his receding gray hair revealing his almost shiny bald head. He wore his captains' uniform while sitting in a large chair behind the largest metal desk Malcolm had ever seen, two people could easily lay next to each other and have room to spare. Melissa took a seat in one of the two swivel chairs in front of the desk while Malcolm took a seat in the other.

The captain smiled warmly at the two. "Melissa, always good to see you. And you've brought a friend this time. Malcolm, was it?" The captain asked, sounding almost exactly like a stereotypical grandpa that spoiled his grandchildren. "Yes sir. It's a pleasure to meet you." Malcolm said with a small, somewhat forced, smile. "Please, the pleasure is mine. I am Captain Jack Matthias. But please, call me Jack." Jack said with a warm smile. "Now, with introductions out of the way, what is it that you need to report Melissa?' Jack said, facing her. "First, I must ask that you confirm that the room is secure." Melissa started with the same serious tone that Malcolm disliked. Jack must dislike this tone as well, for when she finished her sentence, his smile disappeared. "Yes." Jack said.

"Good. Now, what I have to say is startling, but I'm going to have to ask you to let me finish without interruption. Saturday at 17:50 hours, Engineering Crew Delta found a body inside engine 012. The body in question is that of Doctor Henry Mulberry. His torso was found torn down the middle and emptied of organs with his limbs, including his head, severed and mutilated and strewn about the interior of the engine. What is most startling is that the wounds he suffered during his murder are more consistent with animal attacks than a human with a weapon, save for the several bite marks on his torso and limbs. In summary, we could be facing first contact with an alien species. A _hostile_ alien species." Melissa said with a grave tone.

Jack listened with a hard stare focused on Melissa the entire time, face betraying no emotion. "I see." Jack said, closing his eyes and reclining in his chair. "And you're positive about this?" Jack asked, eyes still closed. "Yes sir. I have seen it myself, and heard the coroners' report firsthand. What she says is not only true, but probable." Malcolm added solemnly. "Mmm." Jack grunted while deep in thought. "Sir, if I may, I suggest we initiate a ship-wide quarantine in order to locate and destroy the alien. There's no telling-" Melissa was silenced by Jack cutting her off. "What kind of panic that would cause." Jack finished for her. "If we just go out and announce the possible presence of a hostile _alien_, people would go into frenzy! That is absolutely not an option." Jack said, opening his eyes. "Well, it's not only dangerous to not do that, but it's irresponsible. We need to find it." Melissa said with a level tone.

"We are agreed that we need to find it, but publicly is not an option. What else can you offer?" Jack said. Melissa thought for a moment. "Well, at the very least, we should send a private message to EarthGov alerting them to the situation. If nothing else, they could send help." Melissa said. Jack mulled the idea over in his mind. "Very well, I will personally send a message to EarthGov. But that doesn't solve our current problem. What about that?" Jack asked. "I already have Engine Deck 012 on lockdown sir. The engine room itself is on security level lockdown, so no one is going to enter its last known location. And hopefully, won't leave either." Malcolm pitched in. "Well, that's a start, at least. But do we have any idea as to where it is exactly?" Jack asked.

Melissa shook her head. "I'm afraid not sir." She said. Jack sighed, "Well shit. What others know about the possibility of this alien?" Jack asked after running a hand down his face. "Including you, Malcolm, Dr. Desmond Niles, and I are the only ones that know." Melissa said. "And those that know of the murder?" Jack asked. "My team and Engineering Crew Delta." Melissa said. Jack sighed once more. "Very well. I am going to need time to think this through, but I want you to do anything and everything to track it down. Dismissed." Jack said, turning in his chair and rising to the window behind him. "But sir, there's more-" Melissa almost blurted. "I said dismissed, Melissa." Jack said calmly, hands behind his back as he gazed into space. Melissa stood and turned on her heel for the door, Malcolm following quickly after her.

After the door closed, Melissa walked a few paces, stopped, took several deep breathes, and pounded her fist against the wall. "Damnit! Damn him and his stubborn, timid nature!" Melissa almost yelled. "Melissa, at least he knows." Malcolm said, resting a hand on her shoulder. Melissa shrugged him off. "It's not enough! He needs to do something, anything! But he wants us to sit on our ass and do _nothing!_" Melissa said, walking forward and back to Malcolm to try to calm herself. "That's not true and you know it! He wants us to find it, but he is right. If we go out and say 'there's a man-killing alien onboard' people would lose their shit! Hell, they might even start a riot! The ship would be put in even more danger!" Malcolm said. Melissa sighed, "You're right. You're right. But… it just bothers me that we can't have the whole ship on alert. It's not right." Melissa said in defeat.

"I agree, but it's what we have to do." Malcolm said slowly. Melissa looked at him for a moment, searching his face for sincerity. Eventually, she looked away and let out a sigh, "You're right. Again. So, let's get to it." Melissa said as she turned to walk to the tram station. "Good. Now… what do I have to do again?" Malcolm asked as he walked alongside Melissa. "While we can't tell everyone about it, we can explain why the deck is on lockdown. I need you to tell the Engineering Crew why deck 012 is off-limits." Melissa said. "Okay, what do I tell them, exactly?" Malcolm asked, curious and lost. "You have an active imagination. Come up with something good." Melissa said. "Something good… right." Malcolm muttered to himself.

_Malcolm Smith, Head of Engineering, Central Engineering Station, Sunday11:19 hours, Earth time_

"This is Malcolm Smith, Head of Engineering, also known as your boss. Now, as I'm sure you are wondering, Engine Deck 012 is on lockdown. The reason behind this is that an unknown chemical has been detected radiating out from Engine 012. Its exact effects are, as of right now, still unknown. However, this is no cause to panic. It was discovered early this morning and has, as far as we are aware, not been in contact with any of our staff or civilian population. All that we ask is that you do not attempt to gain access to Engine Deck 012 until further notice. Anyone who attempts to open Engine Deck 012 will be prosecuted to the very extent of the law under the charge of terrorism with a lethal biological agent. So please, just don't open it. That is all."

Malcolm sighed as he switched off the comm link. That message was broadcast to every single RIG on the Engineering Crew. _'At least that takes care of that…'_ Malcolm thought as his office door opened to reveal Garret Frost and the rest of Engineering Crew Delta. "That was a helluva speech boss." Garret said as he entered. "Glad you liked it. Now, I assume you all know why I called you up here." Malcolm said, laying his hands on his desk. "We're a little shaky on the details boss. Why don't you elaborate?" Garret said, followed by murmurs of agreement from his crew. "Very well. It involves the body you stumbled upon in Engine 012. Have you told anyone about it?" Malcolm asked, looking from one man to the next. "No." was the unanimous answer all around. "Good. Keep it that way." Malcolm replied.

Confusion seemed to sweep over the four when Malcolm said this. "Uh, why is that?" Garret asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because the details of this would be unpleasant for the masses should they be released. Also, because if one of you _do _talk about it, you will be fired and sent off-ship as well as your families." Malcolm replied calmly. Garret and his team understood the last part quite clearly and became silent and attentive. "Now, I don't want it to come to that, but it's what I will be forced to do. Hell, _I_ don't know why, but I can't talk about it either or I'll get the same treatment as you four. So, as to not seem like a hard-ass, take the next week off. Spend some time with your families or something like that." Malcolm explained, much to the relief of the other engineers.

"Thanks boss. I, uh, hope everything works out." Garret said as they turned to leave. "Hope what works out?" Malcolm asked with a smile and a wink. "I don't know boss." Garret said with a smile before he closed the door. _'Glad that's over.'_ Malcolm thought to himself. He eased back into his chair, kicked his feet up onto his desk, and let his mind wander. He stayed like this for quite some time to the point where he almost fell asleep (and it wouldn't be the first time) when his office door opened and none other than Melissa walked in. Malcolm yawned before saying, "Melissa. What brings you here?"

Melissa grabbed a chair from one of the other sides of his office and sat down in front of his desk. "Just thought that I would stop by and congratulate you on that announcement you made. It was pretty realistic." Melissa said with a playful smile. Malcolm chuckled, "I try." Melissa laughed a little as well. "I know. What did you tell the engineering crew?" Melissa asked. "That if they talked about it they would be fired and deported." Malcolm said with a shrug. "Damn, isn't that a little much?" Melissa asked. Malcolm shook his head, "No. I told them that I was in the same situation." Melissa nodded. "Nice. Firm, yet, believable." Melissa commented. "Also, I gave them the week off." Malcolm added. "Always this easy on your employees?" Melissa asked with a small laugh. "Only the ones that don't cause trouble." Malcolm replied with a smile.

"Now on to business, have you found it yet?" Malcolm asked in a serious tone. Melissa sighed. "No, not yet. As far as we can tell, it isn't even on the ship." Melissa said. "So that's good, right?" Malcolm asked. "Yes and no. Yes, it might not even be on the ship. No, we don't know what to look for aside from the obvious." Melissa reported. "To be honest, I was hoping we could talk about something else." Melissa said with a large sigh and saddened tone. Malcolm was well beyond confused at that last sentence. He and Melissa never _ever_ 'just talked', not in the five or so years he had been working on the U.S.G. Olympus. "And that's another thing; why are you being so friendly to me? You've never been like this before." Malcolm asked.

"Are you not okay with it?" Melissa asked in a somewhat hurt, somewhat annoyed tone. "No, that's not what I'm saying, it's just… it… it's so… sudden." Malcolm stumbled as he searched for the right words to say what he thought. "Then I don't see the problem with it." Melissa said plainly. "There isn't a problem with it, I… I don't know. I guess I'm just a little flustered." Malcolm said with a sigh. Melissa put a reassuring hand over his, "You wouldn't be human if you weren't." Malcolm jerked his hand back in surprise, much to the confusion of Melissa. "What? What's wrong?" Melissa asked, hurt that he rejected her like that. "I'm sorry, it's just… my wife passed away five years ago. She would always do that when I was like this and you just startled me, is all." Malcolm said distantly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Malcolm. I didn't know." Melissa said, feeling like an ass for reminding him of his dead wife. "It's fine. You didn't know." Malcolm said, still distant. "But… to answer your question… I was hoping that we could be friends. And I don't like seeing friends upset like you are or to seem like I'm all business like we have been all the time we've know each other." Melissa explained. Malcolm seemed to come back to reality upon hearing this. After a moment, he smiled. "Yeah. We could be friends." Malcolm said. Melissa smiled, "Great. I'm glad we can." Malcolm nodded and his stomach growled loudly for he hadn't eaten lunch yet. Melissa laughed, "Care to get some lunch?" Malcolm smiled somewhat sheepishly, "Sure."

_Dr. Kirk Grawl, Religious Scientist (Unitology), Test chamber 07 observation room, Sunday 23:18 hours, Earth time_

Dr. Grawl was very excited to watch the undergoing of this test. It would, should it be successful, allow his plans to be accelerated to the next step. Once more a man was in the small room beneath them, unaware of why he was there. Dr. Howl shuffled nervously in his seat next to Dr. Grawl. "What is it? We've made it this far, why do you seem so tense?" Dr. Grawl asked. Dr. Howl shrugged. "It must be jitters. I'm anxious to see the results of this test." Dr. Howl said. "Very well. Now, on with the task at hand." Dr. Grawl said as he pressed a button on his armrest to pull up the RIG screen. This screen however was not a two-way video screen like the last time, but rather a camera to record the test.

Dr. Grawl opened the comm link to the waiting team outside the test chamber, "Send in the infection form." A door opened to the left of the man, facing the observation glass, and he stared in curiosity as a levitating metal box roughly the size of a loveseat was glided in by four masked figures. Once the box was entirely in the room, one of the men entered a few commands in a holographic screen on the side and the four hurried out of the room, closing and locking the door. A few seconds after the door closed, the box opened from the top and a pale, bat-like creature with a long needle-like nose climbed out and looked about the room, focusing its attention on the man.

The man started slowly backing away from the creature before it leapt from its perch on the box and pinned the man to the ground, the man screaming while this happened. The creature raised its needle nose to strike down on the man's forehead before the man punched the creature, startling it enough to let the man throw it off and make a run for the door. He pounded on the door while yelling, "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" The creature recovered from the man's attack and jumped onto his back, raising and driving its needle nose into the man's forehead. The man stopped screaming and pounding as the bat creature forced tentacles into his head and hopped back as its work was concluded. The man bent over slightly as two fleshy appendages burst forth from his back and he experienced the same mutation Hank Friedman underwent.

Dr. Grawl was well past thrilled with the results of the test. But it was far from over. He reached into the seat next to him and grabbed the neural amplifier and lowered it onto his head. Once the visor read that it was ready for use, Dr. Grawl focused his thoughts. _'To attention.'_ He thought. The two necromorphs turned to face Dr. Grawl and stood, ready to receive further commands. Dr. Grawl smiled. "Do you see that? Even when not making direct contact with the Marker shard we have, it still responds to me as though I were the Hive Mind. We are so close Eon." Dr. Grawl said to Dr. Howl, too excited to use Dr. Howl's title. "Yes. We are close." Dr. Howl replied distantly, staring in horror at the two creatures that stood below him.

_'What have I helped create?'_ Dr. Howl thought to himself.


End file.
